Tensions in the Orange County Jewish community are high following a UC Irvine talk by George S. Rishmawi, co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). The talk triggered a barrage of letters from various divisions of the Jewish community, which in turn lead to the unusually high internal fractiousness.

ISM is a well-organized anti-Israel movement purporting to be a non-violent initiative, despite demonstrated support for the late Yasser Arafat and ISM members’ assistance to known terrorists.

Rishmawi, who spoke on November 22, was sponsored by the Olive Tree Initiative (OTI) at UCI, whose stated goal is to “promote dialogue and discussion regarding the Israeli-Arab conflict.” Moreover, the UCI Hillel president promoted the event on Facebook.

Some members in the community object to the mainstream Jewish organization’s association with OTI. They argue the ISM and its representatives harbor terrorist sympathies and claim this alone should make them unwelcome on any American campus.

“The Olive Tree Initiative is not an olive branch,” said Deirdre Sterling, a grassroots activists who drafted a letter on behalf of community members, in a phone interview.

Sterling’s letter noted concern over Rishmawi’s talk and the Orange County Jewish Federation’s alleged association with OTI. “I did some comprehensive research, which took me to calling people in Israel and all over the country. We have enough problems with the Muslim Student Union sponsoring hate speakers and don’t need our kids associating with such speakers.”

Sterling said that she was able to verify information about Rishmawi’s background and sent out a letter to the community, on the heels of an alleged similar letter that the Simon Wiesenthal Center sent. “I felt it was necessary to write the community about my concerns and what I had learned.”

But the consequences of Sterling’s letter have been grim, with many in the community upset and pointing fingers.

The Jewish Federation of Orange County sent a general letter asking the community to ignore calls for “removal of funding from the only Jewish and pro-Israel groups on campus,” asserting these calls are “misguided.”

The Federation’s letter also suggests that individuals confused the activists, clarifying that the OTI speaker was George S. Rishmawi as opposed to a George N. Rishmawi. They characterized the latter individual as a “despicable character,” and the former as someone who had recently cut ties with the ISM.

Another letter, this time from Hillel, was far more critical of dissidents.

Jordan Fruchtman, executive director of Hillel, sent a letter that some in the community, including Rabbi Dov Fischer, have described as slanderous. Fisher noted in a response that Fruchtman’s letter contained an “explicit ad hominem character assassination” of Deirdre Sterling. The letter names Sterling explicitly and demands a retraction and apology.

Sterling, who said she never brought up George N. Rishmawi, argued that comments against her have been of a personal nature and ignore the issue of ISM speakers who she says can influence young Jewish students. She notes that a similar letter by the Simon Wiesenthal Center received no public response from the Jewish Federation or the executive director of Hillel.

“I see a theme of shooting the messenger. I have seen this happen when students, in the past, have been totally humiliated by Hillel for voicing different views,” Sterling contended. She added that the incident has prompted her to launch a website to respond to claims made against her.

In a statement, Fruchtman characterized the incident as unfortunate. “My wish and hope is that the Jewish community is able to come together on our campus and campuses across the country to fight anti-Israel activity,” he said, arguing that the recent fallout amongst the community is a setback to crucial campaigns.

To further exacerbate an already sensitive matter is a petition signed by 87 current and former UCI students. The student petition alleges that Sterling’s call to boycott the Federation and Hillel harms Jewish life on campus.

PJ Media has learned that many of the signatories had not seen the letter or were not aware their names had been included. But an official letter from the president of Hillel suggests the letter accidentally included names of people on a listserv.

Some, however, are alleging fraud.

“The student president of Hillel at UCI publicly admitted to a group of students and community members on Monday, November 22, that the majority of students who were listed were never shown the letter before it was sent out the afternoon of Friday, November 19,” said Joe Wolf, a PhD candidate at UCI.

19 Comments, 12 Threads

It sounds like a pissing contest to me. Sponsoring an ISM speaker is a bad mistake given the pension of these guys for Hutnah or lying to further their cause. If there was a way to separate the lies from the truth, it could be a valuable experience. I suggest that the individual students involved read PJM and Atlas Shrugs for a month to further their understanding. Then they could invite anyone they want.

With 78% of Jew voting for an incompetent socialist like Obama, it is little surprise that Jewish federations are infiltrated by suicidal anit-semetic Jews. Jews are under attack by Islamists and fellow anti-semetic-Jews, but will wear their “liberal” credentials to their self dug graves. I have voted with my pocketbook to support only Pro-Zionist and Pro-Israel organizations like Christains United for Israel. Fools like Sterling are the reason to defund the traditional liberal dominated UJA type organizations. Go to Israel and ask the Israelis what they think of Obama and his pro-Islam US State Dept. 94% of them laugh at the foolishness of the US Jews

Mike, unfortunately you’re right. Jews in America, especially Reform Jews, have really lost touch with what is in their best interests. They’ve become knee-jerk Democrats mindlessly supporting any liberal cause, no matter how detrimental it is to their or Isreal’s interests. I’m Jewish, but I’ve been a life-long conservative. While I do have some “progressive” views socially, I don’t blindly follow my neighbors ideology.

Far too many have become blind to the animosity that the Liberal Left in this country have to Israel in particular, and Jews in general. They ignore it to their folly. Mr. Obama’s earliest indoctrination has been both communism and Islam…neither of which have proven to particularly friendly to Jews…and his actions in the past two years have proven this to be true.

But to have a Jewish group, in an American University, host someone who is virulently anti-Semitic is placing themselves on the path to suicide. Any group that does so…is, in a word, STUPID.

Tim, I never heard or saw the poll but I have a real problem with that supposed finding. I seem to recall that Israel was one of the few countries in the world that overwhelmingly supported McCain over Obama. That quote may be true, but I assure you Obama was never the preferred choice of most Israelis, although he may have been the preferred choice of an audience to a particular radio station at a particular time of day on a particular day.

Bush never fell below a 70 per cent approval rating and McCain ran at least that during the election. In the only exit poll of American Israelis voting McCain got 85 per cent. When Obama started to strongarm Netanyahu over Jerusalem his approval rating fell to six per cent. He may have quadrupled that since then, but that’s still pretty anemic.

AirMike has it just about right, far too many American Jews have a liberal virus that leads them to support even those who despise and loathe them, people like Barack Hussein Obama.
I am no longer surprised by the anti Jewish and anti Israel behavior of American Jews, I am just deeply disappointed.

Amen! a shonda
American JEWS for SUICIDE of Israel
YUP thatis the message vfrom lib jews – don’t upset the MUSLIMS – dialog withthe MUSLIMS bveofre they cut your head off
better yet- go for the OBAMA JStreet plan- ISRAEl just send yor citizens to the street next time the rockets fly- and the rest of you jump in the sea and drown
then Obama Clinton and Samantha Powers can declare Mission Accomplished
and on who will the Muslims blame everything after ISrael is gone?

I’m hesitant to ever claim that anyone is acting contrary to their own best interest. First, because this is a Leftist argument, and they always lie. Second, I believe that people who are not seriously mentally ill have a pretty good grasp of their best interest.

Stop confusing support for legitimate public figures like Obama (even if you dislike or distrust him) with the issue of a Hillel rabbi lending support to a fringe extremist organization like ISM – Read up on the suicide bombing of Mike’s Place in Tel Aviv- the perpetrators stayed at an ISM safe house. This unfortunately is a growing phenomenon, especially on college campuses where it is becoming politically correct to hate Israel and demonize its supporters. The question that should be asked and looked into is who invited this ISM spokesman to a Jewish venue and why was this venue offered to him. The Jewish community in this country is in disarray and many of its members are intellectually brain-dead, incapable of understanding that their institutions are being infiltrated and taken over by extremists who seek to do it harm. Fortunately, that part of the Jewish community that are confused and misguided also tend to have few if any children, so they will diminish to insignificance.

Hillel leadership is all but useless, unless one counts its holiday parties and other wishy washy programs.
For 4 frustratingly long years I attempted to bring several prominent pro Israel speakers to my son’s Hillel at MIT as a balancing force against the rabidly pro Arab sentiment on campus which permeated all forums.This fruitless quest took place from 2003-2007.
Even though Dr Kenneth Levin,preeminent psychiatrist and historian,author of, The Oslo Syndrome:Delusions of a People Under Siege;Dr Richard Landes, of Pallywood fame;eminent author and historian Dr Eugene Narrett, agreed to speak as counterweights to the Muslim Brotherhood backed speakers, courtesy of the Muslim Student association, Hillel’s Director refused to back them.Why? Because they believed that to do so would ‘rock the boat’ of the otherwise ‘friendly’ relations between Hillel and the MSA.
Now, color me crazy, but one is hard pressed to explain to the hapless Jewish students(as well as others looking for a balance on campus) how inviting highly qualified speakers to counter incitement from a Muslim sponsored group is bad for relations.
To wit, the besieged students are held captive to a lethally obsessed appeasement Jewish leadership, coupled with a leftist putsch from most faculty, administrators, and a Muslim student body allowed to run rampant over other student’s rights.
NEVER mind that academic freedom, freedom of speech and many other freedoms are trampled underfoot-student rights be damned!!